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[Music] good morning welcome to free grace Baptist Church this this Lord's Day and welcome to any visitors who are amongst us as well in terms of announcements the only announcement is that tonight we will be remembering the Lord and the Lord's Supper so just keep that in mind if you hadn't thought of that the Lord's Supper will be the evening service which is at 5 o'clock well please turn with me your Bibles please to Psalm 125 Psalm 125 to begin worship this morning Psalm 125 a song of a sense those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever as the mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity do good O Lord to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts for as for such as turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity peace be upon Israel Amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to respond with our first hymn to him number 87 a eighty seven eight I'll ask you Stan please [Music] a man may be seen it let's go to God in prayer and ask his blessing to be upon our worship this is this morning let's party our gracious God our loving Heavenly Father we come before you our great God this day through your son the Lord Jesus Christ we praise You Father for the salvation that is ours we praise you and thank you for the forgiveness that we have in your son the Lord Jesus Christ and we know Lord that it was through no good act on our part through no good decision in our part but rather you by your sovereignty you invaded our hearts and you caused us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you for that gift of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus to be our Savior to to forgive us of all of our sins and we praise you and thank you for that that precious righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that was imputed to us and Lord we pray that you would be pleased to cause us this day to be worshippers of you truly we have much to be grateful for father - when we consider all the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ Jesus the factor that you have adopted us as your sons as your daughters in Christ we praise you for that that we are as your very own children and you care for us you protect us and you give to us our daily needs we we thank you for all the physical blessings that we enjoy as well on this Good Earth that you have blessed us with we say thank you Father all creation on this beautiful Lord's Day speaks in worship of you and we praise you father that we get to as your as your children is your adopted children we get to praise you as well we thank you Lord that you've given to his voices and we pray that we might use those voices in worship and adoration of our great God this day we pray Lord that your blessing might be upon our worship time here today as well we pray Lord that you would bless us as we come before you as we open up your word as we hear your word preach we pray Lord that it would not just be as a as one who would come and look at themselves in the mirror and go away and soon forget what they look like we pray Lord for that for that abiding Holy Spirit to take that word and do to bring conviction upon that word as well that we might see father where we fall far short of what you have laid down in Holy Scripture and we pray Lord that we as we confess our sins to you that you would be pleased to forgive us for Christ's sake we think there is a fountain that is open for for uncleanness for sin and we pray that we might avail ourselves of that daily in this lower world father we thank you for that the blessing of the knowledge that that what we do this day is but a foretaste is but a downpayment of what we will do for all of eternity we will get to worship the lamin and sit around the throne in and take in with our own eyes the things that we pray by faith that now in regards to we we will look upon that that holy throne and how we praise you Father for that for that that hope of heaven that hope of eternity that we have for for ourselves and for all those who have gone on before us who have died in the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you Father for the many gifts that we do enjoy and the things we have to look forward to we do pray Lord that you would bless the church bless our own local church bless pastor Butler strengthen him Lord from day to day we thank you that he does seek and desire to - - to lead us in in in excellently and and thoroughly in the Word of God and we pray Lord that you would hatch him in protect him and encourage his heart and cause Lord the things that come from this pulpit from this church on on a Wednesday night as well and from house to house that all these things would be done for your glory sake and the Lord you would be pleased to add your blessing to them continue to give to us a spirit of unity here at free grace and we just gave you our grateful thanks for the many things that we get to enjoy here in this local church Lord we do pray your rich blessing to be upon not just ourselves but upon the Surrey Church and upon the church inverted as well bless those men of God who stand in those pulpits this day to bring forth your word we pray Lord that you would cause them to to preach with authority not the authority in themselves but the authority that is given to them by the fact that they preach the word the very word of God and and that that word that has been breathed upon men that we that we get to open up we pray Lord they would know that that help and that aid from your Holy Spirit this day as they bring forth the word and that father would be a word on to edification and a word of unto salvation for those are unsaved and we do pray Lord that your that your blessing might be upon them and as they as they dis dissipate into their communities as we would pray for ourselves father that you would be pleased to bless those blessed bless us as individuals as we take the Word of God and take take our living out into the places that where you have place us in place of work employment in the home raising children in schools and and all over this earth father you called us to be your disciples and we pray that you'd help us in that task Lord we do ask your blessing upon any and all who are unwell and sick amongst us we know certainly there are those who do a land and do our recovering from various various things that that they have had we pray Lord you bless you might your rich blessing might be upon them that they would take in the word of God they would enjoy just on a daily basis being a Christian they would enjoy these things and revel in the fact that they that their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life and we pray though that in these things they might find great encouragement and and might they they might find great joy and simply being able to call you their heavily father we pray Lord that you would give to them sustained health and that you would return them to us those who are wait from us this day return them to us in health and strength and do time we do pray Lord we do ask your blessing to be upon once again to the persecuted Church as we pray for them in the last hour we know Lord that these are very real threats against your people and people are experiencing the the shutting down of churches and and the the the reining in of freedoms to be able to meet together and Lord we how we pray that your blessing might be upon upon those people who who are seeking to take the gospel in in in two countries where where there is not a sympathetic government we pray though that you would just cause them to to persevere give them boldness as they preach the word and boldness in in in in declaring your truths regardless of what the authorities say we do pray Lord that you would protect them and put a hedge of protection around them we thank you and praise you that as we read in the last hour there are many meetings together many pastors conferences when and teaching conferences well that are going forward and we praise you Lord that you are building your church and and the gates of Hell will not prevail and we just praise you for that and pray though that you would continue to to bless bless those who who are in these difficult circumstances and situations Laurie do ask your rich blessing to be upon upon the the the the even the environment which we find ourselves in we know Lord that the environment that we live in here in this nation of ours is not necessarily environment that that is that is positive towards Christianity yeah we thank you that we get to enjoy the freedom of meeting together here in this place the way we do we pray Lord for your continued blessing to be upon that that you would give to us government that is that is able that allows us to meet and in in relative freedom and we do pray Lord that you would restrain evil in our own nation restrain in the hand that that seeks to to take innocent lives in our nation we pray Lord that you would just be merciful to us as a country and we do pray that your word would go forth and that it would be unto salvation for those who who presently are like a salt cause many to turn into Paul's father as your as you set your love upon them and cause them to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and and we do pray Lord for the for the building up of the church in our own nation revive those churches that that are seeking to be faithful in places in small communities large communities and those who are perhaps even who have become who have become a drift to doctrine into truth we pray though that you would sharpen their focus and cause them to preach the whole counsel of God and and in these ways we pray law that you would just revive your churches across our nation so Lord we thank you we praise you that you are a kind God you are a good god you are a merciful Godin and as we worship you now in in in song and later and hymns and and later in the Word of God as it's opened up how we pray that you would be pleased to send us your Holy Spirit and cause us Lord to to know the truth that you Tabernacle amongst us and that that your blessing is upon upon our congregation this day as we seek to be worshippers of you help us in that worship we do pray in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to him number 539 539 I'll ask you to stand once [Music] amen you may be seated and please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts Acts chapter 8 Acts chapter 8 we'll read from verse 26 we'll complete the chapter to the end verse 40 so Acts chapter 8 beginning at verse 26 now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza this is desert so he arose and went and behold a man of Ethiopia a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians who had charge of all her Treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship was returning and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet then the spirit said to Philip go near and overtake this chariot so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said do you understand what you were reading and he said how can i unless someone guides me and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him the place in the scripture which he read was this he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before it's Shearer is silent so he opened not his mouth in his humiliation his justice was taken away and who will declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth so the eunuch answered Philip and said I ask you of whom does the prophets say this of himself or of some other man then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at the scriptures preached Jesus to him now as they went down the road they came to some water and the eunuch said see here is water what hinders me from being baptized then Philip said if you believe with all your heart you may and he answered and said I believe that Jesus is that Jesus Christ is the son of God so he commanded the chariot to stand still and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him now when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more and he went his way rejoicing that Philip was found at as itas and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to says riah so again once again we see that you know the gospel is preached the Holy Spirit attends that that preached word and they believed and were baptized it's just it's a race it's yet one more example in the book of Acts in the Acts of the Apostles where we see that pattern continued and there's just one more example but it's an important example in the sense that it's a fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 56 which which if we if you go back and take the time perhaps afternoon to review Isaiah 56 it was it was prophesied that even the eunuchs the gospel would come to the Eunice and they would have that opportunity that privilege of entering in to the to the to the into the throne room of God is at work through the Lord Jesus Christ and that love of Christ is an omnipotent love it reaches down it strikes an individual such as this Ethiopian eunuch and we read of that in the last hour is the omnipotence of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ it does accomplish its purposes and nothing stops it from accomplishing that those those purposes that it was sent to accomplish and it could work without the means but it chooses to work with the means in this case it was Philip that was the means of bringing the gospel to this to this unit and for that we do praise God for for the mean so let's go to God in prayer just to ask again that he would bless the means in the next in the next few minutes as we come to hear the word of God it's not a word from a man but it's a word that that does need that the help and aid of a Holy Spirit to to bring it to each heart and conscience let's pray our gracious our loving Heavenly Father it's once again with it with a great privilege that we come into your very throne room to ask Lord that you would be pleased to bless the means as they are applied here in this place as the word of god has opened up we know Lord that it is a spiritual word it's not it's not it's not a word of man it's not a word of ingenuity or wisdom but rather father it's the word of God and so Lord we Pertwee we humble ourselves before that word and pray Lord that that you would be pleased to to use the means here in this place at free grace do to to have that word opened up and we pray that your Holy Spirit will attend it and the Lord you would be pleased to cause it to to be on to edification and unto salvation here in this place we pray Lord that you would be glorified through these things and we pray in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the last skim before we do hear the word of God opened up and that will be to him number 256 256 I'll ask you to stand please [Music] amen we'll turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 12 Acts chapter 12 as we continue our exposition of the Acts of the Apostles Acts 12 I'll begin reading in verse 1 now about that time Herod the King stretched out his hand to harass some from the church then he killed James the brother of John with the sword and because he saw that it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to seize Peter also now it was during the days of unleavened bread so when he had arrested him he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him intending to bring him before the people after Passover Peter was therefore kept in prison but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church and when Herod was about to bring him out that night Peter was sleeping bound with two chains between two soldiers and the guards before the door were keeping the prison now behold an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the prison and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up saying arise quickly and his chains fell off his hands then the angel said to him gird yourself and tie on your sandals and so he did and he said to him put on your garment and follow me so he went out and followed him and did not know that what it that what was done by the angel was real but thought he was saying a vision when they were past the first in the second guard post they came to the iron gate that leads to the city which opened to them of its own accord and they went out and went down one Street and immediately the angel departed from him and when Peter had come to himself he said now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people so when he had considered this he came to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was mark where many were gathered together praying and as Peter knocked at the door of the gate a girl named Rhoda came to answer when she recognized Peters voice because of her gladness she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate but they said to her you are beside yourself yet she kept insisting that it was so so they said it is his angel now Peter continued knocking and when they opened the door and saw him they were astonished but motioning to them with his hand to keep silent he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and he said go tell these things to James and to the Brethren and he departed and went to another place then as soon as it was day there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter but when Herod had searched for him and not found him he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death and he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there now Herod had been very angry with the people of tyre and sidon but they came to him with one Accord and having made Blastoise the King's personal aide their friend they asked for peace because their country was supplied with food by the Kings country so on a set day Herod arrayed and royal apparel sat on his throne and gave an oration to them and the people kept shouting the voice of a God and not of a man then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God and he was eaten by worms and died but the Word of God grew and multiplied amen let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for the written word of the living and true God we thank you that it's given by inspiration of God and that its profitable to us for for correction for instruction for reproof for all the things that you have purposed and God I pray that your Holy Spirit would be at work now that you would guide us as we consider this passage of Scripture that you would encourage us to pray for those who are persecuted those who suffer for the cause of God and truth and Lord as well equip us as we see increasing secularization increasing opposition to the church in our own country I pray father that you would gird us up that you would cause us to be faithful call us to be persevering caused us to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us boldness to hold forth the word of truth and even now forgive us for our sins in our transgression cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and again fill us with your spirit as we consider Holy Scripture now and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well last Sunday we considered Jesus statement Matthew chapter 16 when he said I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it and with that statement he does two things he confirms the triumph of the church but then affirms the continual opposition of Satan against the church now today is called the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church and interestingly we find ourselves here in Acts chapter 12 this is a wonderful illustration of civil or state opposition to the Church of our Lord Jesus up to this particular point in the book of Acts the opposition to Christ and his people had been led by the the Jews now certainly they appreciate what herod agrippa does in this passage but it's led by him we don't know why he does this we don't know what is motivating this but this is state opposition of the church now at the time of Jesus certainly Pilate Pontius Pilate was a civil authority who gave the authorization to execute our Lord Jesus but as you read the narrative he was simply a puppet he functioned at the behest of the Jews again that was a religious persecution so we're sort of changing direction now not saying there is no more religious opposition but seeing now this new element in terms of state opposition to the rising Christian cause and I want to look first at the persecution of the church by Herod in verses 1 to 4 secondly the escape from prison by Peter in verses 5 to 19 and then the the judgment of Herod by God in verses 19 to 23 and then finally the progress of the word by the power of God but as we look at this persecution we ought to notice first the persecutor in verse 1 it tells us now about that time Herod the King stretched out his hand to harass some from the church now about that time probably links up with 11:30 when Saul or Paul and Barnabas went from Antioch into Judea on that famine relief visit now it had been about 10 years at this point since the martyrdom of Stephen and if we ask the question why does Herod do this it might simply be the case that there were a multitude of Gentile converts being added to the church and this was perceived by both the Jews the religious Jews and the civil state as a threat they wanted to oppose this they wanted to crush this now this particular Herod his name is Herod Agrippa the first he was the grandson of Herod the Great who ruled at the time of our Lord Jesus Christ it was Herod the Great who murdered the innocents in Matthew chapter 2 it was Herod the Great that Jesus went to see in Luke chapter 23 and this particular Herod the the grandson of that Herod the Great is a grip of the first he reigned from 37 to 44 which helps us to date the the specific details in the book of Acts so when God kills him it's ad 44 now he had a bit of a color cast himself and wasn't always looked upon favorably I think he spent a little time in prison for having insulted one of the Caesars at that time but he was good friends with Caligula and with Claudius and through their influence in his life he became the man that sort of governed that same region that that that his grandfather Herod the Great was over later on in the book of Acts a couple of his children are going to be mentioned Drusilla in chapter 24 and then a grip of the second and Bernice in chapter 25 when you get to chapter 25 and you have a grip of the second and Bernice it's often assumed that they were husband and wife because they sort of function like that they were actually brother and sister which is extremely sinful and wicked and I think there was an incestuous relationship that obtained between them so certainly this man was no wonderful person he was raised as a Roman but had Edomite ancestry and so he got along pretty well with the Jews overall certainly when he launches this persecution against the church the Jews are are thrilled with this so he continues to make concessions to them and then in terms of the actual persecution it's twofold he first murders James and then secondly he imprisons Peter now I think he wants to murder Peter as well but because the feast time was at hand he didn't want to do that just like at the time of our Lord Jesus remember they didn't want to out him and kill him during the feast they wanted to get that over while they may have craved his blood they did not want to do it at the time of the feast to demonstrate their hypocrisy this idea that we can't engage in this moral travesty so that we can maintain sort of ceremonial fidelity but once the feast is over it's okay we can murder him but in terms of the martyrdom of James notice what the text says it says in verse 1 he stretched out his hand to a sum from the church then he killed James the brother of John with the sword this is james the son of zebedee the sons of thunder the sons of bolon urges these are James and John remember some weeks ago we considered Matthew chapter 20 when James and John were jockeying for position at the right and the left hand of our Lord Jesus and he says to them you don't know what you're asking you are not or if you've been baptized with the baptism that I'm going to undergo or drink the cup that I'm gonna drain well this is what Jesus was talking about when he said to them that they would suffer now certainly James loses his head at the the sword of Herod in this instance and John ends up on the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ which indicates and which ought to illustrate for us that service to the Lord God in this world does not always ensure great things earthly speaking always we know that we have glory laid up for us in heaven but the greatest servants of God most high oftentimes meet their end in horrible ways and certainly James does in this instance now the movement of Herod against the church as far as we can tell was his own he wasn't instigated he wasn't provoked it wasn't anything that we can tell that made him do this external to him the movement of parrot against the church was specifically against her leaders notice who Herod goes after he goes after James the son of Zebedee he goes after Peter both men who were apostles in the Church of Christ the idea being strike the shepherd and then the sheep will scatter he goes right for the throat of the Christian movement by highlighting or targeting their leaders the killing of James with the sword likely meant that he was beheaded and thus Jesus words you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with comes to fruition or fulfillment now notice secondly in terms of the persecution the imprisonment of Peter look at the text in verse 2 it says then he killed James the brother of John with the sword and because he saw that it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to cease Peter also I think about that statement for just a moment it pleased the Jews Matthew Poole says the perverseness of the Jews is very remarkable who were mad with rage against Christ and against his apostles at such times in which they pretended to serve the God of love and peace you see all those who claim to be religious aren't necessarily so when they engage in this kind of gross immorality it pleased the Jews when Herod stretched out his hand and cut the head off of James the son of Zebedee that's a bloodthirsty wretched lot and we see they didn't change much from the time of the Lord Jesus Christ this is the same group that said away with him away with him crucify him and so when Herod sees that it pleases the Jews he then seizes Peter again I think that he wants to execute him immediately but because the feast is upon him that would have been on torte so he's going to put him in prison for that period it's about a week and then after that he's going to collect him he's going to bring him back out in front of the people not for a public trial but for a public execution so Peter is on his way to death as far as he knows at this particular juncture as well now note the details given concerning Peters imprisonment the the text is very heavy with this verse 4 indicates it and then we see it sort of supposed or assume as we move through the narrative why do you think Luke is doing this I think he's doing it for two reasons in the first place he wants to highlight that this wasn't an inside job it wasn't a guard sympathetic to Peter that broke him out he wants to highlight that it was in fact divine in its origin that it was in fact an angel of the Lord but secondly it's almost as if the narrative stacks the deck against God just like in first Kings chapter 18 that battle between Elisha and the prophets of bale I mean Elisha takes water and pours it on the sacrifice that is stacking the deck against Yahweh and yet Yahweh sends fire down from heaven and consumes that well the same thing obtains here you have four squads of four soldiers that means 16 soldiers so that they can watch the four watches of the night there are three hour shifts that each one would take so Peter would be chained to two of them in his prison cell some suggest that he was chained this way they put his right hand to the guard ear and they put his left hand to the guard they're really at a position of disadvantage and then you had two guards at the door so there was no possible way a person could escape apart from divine aid apart from that angelic intervention so the deck is stacked to highlight that it is divine in terms of its origin and as well to bring glory and praise and honor to our great God who tells us that there is no prison that can hold his people if he purposes to break them out the Lord most high is great now probably Herod is motivated by the fact that Peter had previously broken out of a jail Peter had escaped from prison in Acts chapter 5 when there was that religious targeting against him so perhaps Herod heard that and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen on his watch and that brings us secondly to consider the escape from prison by Peter note the escape we'll look at the escape and verses 5 to 11 and then the report concerning the escape in verses 12 to 19 verse 5 is greatly encouraging and it ought to be for the people of God and it ought to be somewhat convicting for us that don't pray this way brethren we have a prayer meeting every Sunday morning at 9:30 well we alternate every other week and then alternating weeks we study our confession of faith we meet for prayer on Wednesday evening and one of the things that we often pray for is the persecuted church and look at what the church is doing according to verse 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church the first response of the church at the imprisonment of Peter having heard of the beheading of James and it's the requirement for the church today is to pray to intercede to call upon the Lord Most High for those who suffer the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 13:3 tells us remember the prisoners as if chained with them those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body also that's not a suggestion it's not an addition it's not something that you do if you have time but as the people of God Almighty we are not alone in this world we are not Mavericks we're not individuals and there's some poor soul out there dependent upon the prayers of the people of God in this church why is it that when we come to pray we aren't more vociferous with these calls to God I've often said it's not a paused meeting it's a prayer meeting we gather together to voice the concerns of God's people to the Lord on behalf of God's people we make this available it's not by invitation only everybody here is welcome to come at 9:30 everybody here is welcome to come on Wednesday at 7:30 everybody here is welcome to hear what we read concerning the various torments going on to the people of God I mean the very thing that that Herod does here starts this sort of domino effect you know what we read in the last hour state oppression of the church in various countries out there there is no new thing under the Sun the same sorts of things the beheading of judge the imprisonment of Peter those sorts of things are going on right now as we gather together in the Blessed peace and tranquility that we enjoy we have been given much brethren we have been given peace we have been given a a building to meet we have been given opportunities we have been given something of a consciousness to want to bring these things before the Lord God most I are we gonna neglect that are we gonna resist that are we gonna hesitate about that and we gonna be too lazy or apathetic to actually call upon God for brothers and sisters that are suffering with the sorts of things that that are are horrific and horrendous look at what it says Peter was therefore kept in prison but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church Mathew Poole says there are no squads of soldiers can keep the passage shot that is towards heaven there is no there are no squads of soldiers can keep the passage shut that is towards heaven I think that's beautiful they can't stop us from praying they can't stop us from calling upon the Lord God Almighty they can rip our tax status away they can threaten imprisonment gate they can do all of that but they can never stop the people of God from praying what inquiry Queen Mary or Mary Queen of Scots say I fear the prayers of John not more than an army of 10,000 soldiers why is that because John Knox was a man bought by Sovereign Grace imputed righteousness he goes to the throne of grace and prays for the various things affecting the kingdom I love the Geneva Bible in its commentary here in acts 12 it says the prayers of the godly overturned the council of tyrants obtained angels of God break the prison unloose chains put Satan to flight and preserve the church a far different response than what we often hear well all we can do now is prayer pray what do you mean all we can do now is pray that's the first reason that's the middle response that's the end response that is a weapon of our warfare that Christ has given our carnal are our weapons are not carnal but they are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds they are blessed of God and we are uh we ought to be privileged to use them and and then after we see the activity or the prayers of the church notice the activity of Peter this is how I know Peter was a Calvinist this is how I know Peter was reformed what's Peter doing he's sleeping Sovereign Grace makes a soft pillow Sovereign Grace even if you're chained to wicked soldiers is nevertheless a great incitement to sleep and repose in the kindness and mercy and sovereignty of God he knows what's happening he knows that Herod's not going to bring him out before the people and say what is it that you want me to do with it he knows that if Herod even did that they might suggest with the the death of the the others before them at the crucifixion of Jesus away with him away with him crucified he knows what he's meeting he knows what's in his future and yet he's asleep is that beautiful that's what grace does in the lives of God's people we may not be able to control everything and hopefully we readily and happily acknowledge that but we serve the God who is in absolute control of everything and we are able to sleep we were able to rest we were able to find that Blessed repose that God gives to his beloved there's no mistake that Luke is including in this stuff for our encouragement he submitted to Providence and then notice in terms of the escape we see the power of God in verses 7 to 11 the angel raised him up the light shone in the prison I think for two reasons one to show the divine origin of the angel oftentimes these supernatural appearances are associated with light but he also needs light in order to put on his shoes and put on his outfit and get out of the prison while he followed the angel and if you look at this particular passage it seems to be the passage that Charles Wesley had in mind when he penned an can it be and can it be there's a stanza that says long by imprisoned spirit laid fast bound and sin in nature's night dine I diffused a quickening ray I woke the dungeon flamed with light my chains fell off my heart was free I rose went forth and followed Dean I'm not suggesting Peter is converted here but I'm suggesting that when Wesley penned that in this was a great illustration of God's effectual call a great illustration of God's mercy in the lives of his people a great illustration of what happens when by grace sinners believe that gospel and those chains fall off that imprisoned spirit is freed we we follow after Jesus and life is most blessed as a result and so the angel then instructs him according to verse 8 and then the angel led him according to verses 9 to 11 Peter wondered if it was a vision now we shouldn't be quick to judge Peter here because he just recently had a great vision in Acts chapter 10 remember that vision that God used to bring Peter to Cornelius to preach to him and his household the great gospel of Jesus Christ so he wondered if it was a vision but Peter dutifully follows the angel past the first and second guard posts to the iron gate and the iron gate itself was opened up by God Peter went out to the street and the angel departed from him so you see the very nature of the explanation indicates the divine origin he is shackled to the hearts guards are on the door this angel comes and strikes him it's an interesting verb because it's the same verb used when the angel strikes Aaron it doesn't mean that he stroke struck him as hard but it's a pretty good strike maybe it indicates that Peter was quite the heavy sleeper you know some of those people I was able to sleep through the cries of my children when my my beloved wife wasn't I don't know if that was just a gift given to me by my God as a man or other men share that as well but but there's those who can just sleep through anything they could sleep through earthquakes so the strike that the angel gives to Peter again it's not lethal in terms of what he does with Herod but it's nevertheless it's not a little love tap he he hits him gets him up come on let's go it's time to get out we're moving you from this place we're getting you into freedom and into Liberty Peter knew for certain ultimately if you look at verse 11 that God had delivered him from Herod and from the bloody expectation of the Jewish people this is his conclusion in verse 11 now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people that's a wonderful thing isn't it he consciously reflects on this he realizes no it wasn't an inside job no it wasn't a vision no it wasn't something that was just the power of suggestion I'm actually now outside smelling the sweet free air that God gives to creation and I am no longer bound to these two soldiers and I am no longer bound in that prison he gives glory and praise and adoration and acknowledgement to the true and living God and that brings us to the report concerning the escape and in verse 12 we see the gathering of the disciples now the church in Jerusalem at this time was probably pretty big in verse 17 he's going to tell them to go and tell James and the Brethren James in verse 17 is the half-brother of our Lord he is the one that wrote the Epistle of James he was a leader in the Jerusalem church and so this house that Peter instinctively goes to is not the main meeting place but there were many disciples gathered there now she's identified as Mary the mother of mark that is she's identified by her more famous son this mark is going to be seen in verse 25 in our chapter and this mark is going to be seen in chapter 13 when he goes on the first missionary journey with Barnabas and Paul but he's going to leave from them this is going to be the reason why Barnabas and Paul have some sort of a contention in chapter 15 but he's spoken of favorably later and the epistles written by Paul so he was a young servant of the church likely the one who wrote the Gospel according to Mark he was a close friend and close associate of the Apostle Peter but in this instance the owner of the house is identified by her relationship to her more Amos son but again look at what they're doing where many were gathered together praying see that's what the church does they they pray the church not just pastors not just elders not just deacons but the church the blood-bought children of God pray to their God they pray for themselves to be sure they pray for their families they pray for civil society but they pray for the church they pray for the church that they are part of they pray for churches outside they pray for churches throughout the earth and in the exploitation in Hebrews 13:3 we pray for the church that is persecuted for the cause of God and truth it ought not to be wow I can't believe we prayed for the person it ought to be part of the the fabric of a church it ought to be what we do it ought to be defining in other words it ought to be the the exception when you have a church gathered that doesn't remember other churches that's the anomaly and another practical benefit for praying like this is it get your eyes off of yourself now I'm not suggesting you're not wonderful human beings but I am suggesting that one of the things that continues to cleave to our souls is this inward Ness is this introspection this relationship of me to everything else in other words one is well said if they ever find the center of the universe there's gonna be a whole lot of people upset that they're not there this idea of praying for others gets your eyes off of yourself there are times brethren when being too consumed with yourself is going to be toxic yourself isn't as great as you probably think it is and it's a wonderful thing for us to lift up our eyes to behold the fields white unto harvest as well to read and understand and hear what's happening in Algeria what's happening in India what's happening in in in Pakistan what's happening in these various nations what's happening in China with beloved missionaries that we've prayed for for 20 years brethren these are good things to lift up our eyes off of our self and to think about others now Peter comes to this house again look where he goes he goes to the people of God he goes to the praying brethren he goes to the church he goes to those with whom he has the most affinity he appears to this girl Rhoda a servant girl which is intriguing because if Mary owns this house and it's big enough for many disciples and she has servants it indicates something of her wealth as well if she owns the house it demonstrates something that what we see in acts 2 and 4 where everybody sold everything and shared it in one common sort of pool didn't last or wasn't the the norm throughout church history she had a place people gathered together and there they prayed so Peter comes he appears to this girl named Rhoda and then verse 14 when she recognized Peter's voice think about that for just a moment she's a servant girl and she recognized Peter's voice why because no doubt Peter had been in that home and preached no doubt Peter had been in that home and he prayed no doubt Peter had been in that home and he knew this girl Rhoda he wasn't this far removed pontiff that didn't mix with the rabble but the servant girl recognized his voice the servant girl knew who it was and the servant girl is so glad that she doesn't open the door and she runs to tell the rest of the believers you think well why would she do that brethren in confusing times oftentimes we don't always do the thing we should do she's in a bit of a glad panic I hear his voice he's outside the door she runs to the others and says it's Peter and then what do they say you're mad you're out of your mind now this is suggested to some to ask the question well what were they praying for right doesn't Jesus tell us to pray in faith why are they so blown away at the thought that God answered their prayer and that Simon Peter is now standing at the door if you pray this you ought to be confident in God that if it comes to pass he's hurt and he's blessed and that's his Providence and you rejoice in it but they are absolutely shocked they say as much later this same phrase is going to be used by Festus with all much learning is driving you mad it's the same phrase we see in verse 15 but they said to her you are beside yourself now the answer is this maybe they didn't pray specifically for Peters release maybe they prayed for an extended imprisonment versus execution maybe they prayed what we were encouraged I think it was many many many years ago when I first got here by some brother in China the brother in China wrote and he said to us when you pray for us don't ask that God will take away the persecution ask that God will give us the grace to be able to deal with the persecution that's a wonderful perspective isn't it that's a wonderful and glorious perspective we need to be sensitive to and mindful of the Providence and sovereignty of God why does James in this passage lose his head and Peter is gloriously delivered by an angel I don't know it's the sovereign pleasure and purpose of God Most High as I was reflecting upon this I thought of another reason why what we call the health wealth and prosperity gospel is so pernicious and so heretical and so contra all that is good and holy because in the first place it does disservice to who God is in other words the health wealth prosperity emphasis is is that if we have enough faith then God is duty-bound to give us health wealth and prosperity it is to pull God down from his throne and to make him bail see an ancient bail worship that was the rationale if me in this particular person fornicate then Bale in one of his consorts will fornicate and then they will reign upon the earth and will benefit from that fertile as they are from that watering of our of our crop that is to treat God in a formulaic Manor he is not us he is not creature we do not tame him it's not the measure of our faith that makes God work thanks be to God it is not anything that we can do to put him in a box in this instance James gets his head chopped off and Peter is gloriously delivered you see the prayer of the upright if it was the case in this instance Lord God give Peter the grace that he needs to be able to deal with what he is facing that's a legitimate consistent and excellent prayer that is according to the will of God not to suggest that we can't pray Lord we pray for this brother that's in prison right now that he would be released we pray for so-and-so that they would be able but we always ought to punctuate or end our prayers with nevertheless not our will but thine be done why is it the case the providence unfolds the way that it does I don't know we just say God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to be to perform why do some people have a great deal of suffering and others don't I don't know it's the free good pleasure of God Almighty it's about grace it's about sovereignty it's not about us putting God in a box and making him deliver what it is that we ask for so the the problem with the health wealth prosperity gospel is that it lies to people first and foremost about who God is God is not bail God is not formulaic God does not deliver based on the coins that you put into the machine you push the particular button and out pops the drink that you want that is a pagan conception of God and that is rife among those who confess faith in this health wealth and prosperity garbage not gospel the servant-girl told the others that it was Peter and they said you aren't beside yourself now know what Peter does in verses 16 and 17 now Peter continued knocking why because he wanted it and when he says our motions to them to keep silence why because he didn't want the authorities to catch him he's not a fool he knows that when the angel miraculous he breaks him out of prison Herod is going to do what Herod does there's a stir among the soldiers Herod examines the examines the the environment to try and find him and then Herod deals with his guards the way that Roman Roman officers did so Peter continues to knock he attempts to silence them and then notice specifically in verse 17 he gives glory to God but motioning to them with his hand to keep silence silent he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison it was God it wasn't an inside job you see there are those who are opposed to the supernatural in Scripture and they would come to a passage like this and say well it wasn't an angel of the Lord it was a it was a benevolent guard it wasn't an angel of the Lord it was you know bad lots it wasn't an angel of the Lord it was it was some lucky breaks no Peter knows Peter understands Peter lives in a theistic universe and he understands who this good God is and he says it was the Lord who had brought him out of the prison and then he tells them in verse 17 go tell these things to James and to the Brethren again report it to the church now this is a prayer meeting of sorts probably a place where many were accustomed to gathering but this doesn't seem like it was the main meeting place and so he says go tell James and the Brethren why is that well on the one hand to give glory to God for the release of Peter on the other hand James and the Brethren need to understand this civil attack on the Church of Jesus Christ brethren we are to be responsible agents under God we are to ape Cromwell who said pray and keep your powder dry we are if there is a sense where there is persecution in one city to flee to another city that's Jesus instruction in Matthew chapter 10 brethren we need to be responsible agents and this would be data or information that James and the other brethren would desperately need to hear such that they wouldn't likewise have their heads chopped off or end up in prison now I'm not suggesting we ever compromise our faith I am NOT suggesting we ever shrink back from declaring the truth that we love believe and worship Jesus but I am suggesting that if we have opportunity as Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10 to flee the person in one city and go to another that's legit the Apostle Paul escaped out of the city of Damascus in a basket down the wall why does he do that shouldn't he just trust in the sovereignty of God brethren that is hyper-calvinism God doesn't call us to suspend the use of means and to trust in his sovereignty he tells us to trust in his sovereignty and to use the means you know this instinctively because every time you get into your car you put your seatbelt on of course God is sovereign of course God can keep you from jettisoning out the windshield but a means is a seatbelt it's a blessed thing now you might say well the state makes me wear a seatbelt you know what in that one there's enough data and empirical evidence to suggest that's a good call on their part that's a good call now should they penalize us that's another debate and I'm willing to get into it elsewhere but the the bottom line is God is not opposed to means and so Peter says go tell James and the Brethren and then he departed and went to another place we don't know where some speculate this is when he went to Rome but there's no evidence that Peter ever went to Rome much to the chagrin of Romanism there's no evidence that Peter went to Rome if Peter was in Rome and was the presiding bishop it is very odd that when Paul writes Romans he never once mentions Peter and that's hard wouldn't it be that'd be crazy I mean at the end of Romans 16 he has all these names all these persons he couldn't have said to the first Pope hey by the way Peter you know we pray for you and I hope everything's good he doesn't mention that at all did Peter go to Antioch we don't know did he go to Caesarea we don't know we know he's back in Jerusalem and acts 15 for the Jerusalem Council and that brings us in terms of this report to the discovery by Herod in verses eighteen to nineteen a Herod did what Roman leaders did verse 18 then as soon as it was day there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become a Peter as you might imagine right imagine that you're chained or shackled to a fellow who's now gone I can imagine this scene but what happened to him where did he go I don't know and so what does Hera do verse 19 tells us when Herod had searched for Han and not found him he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death now the reason for this is twofold one he may have suspected or it may have been the case that it was an inside job a guard sympathetic to Peter took his file and shot you know cut the shackles off and led Peter out or secondly a real simple answer it was dereliction of duty they fell asleep and Peter was able to escape which doesn't answer the shackles the gate and all that other stuff but that's why a Roman magistrate would have the guards executed there were times when the Roman guard would actually execute himself to avoid that eventualities we see that in Acts chapter 16 that Philippian jailer what's he going to do he's going to kill himself when Paul and Silas say don't do that he says serves what must I do to be saved and then the shipwreck in Acts chapter 27 the guards want to kill all of the prisoners again this is because they knew what they would get if they were found negligent in their duty so that's the scene that brings us thirdly to the judgment of Herod by God this is a very intriguing passage in Holy Scripture it demonstrates the power of God the glory of God and the majesty of God it tells us in 19 B that he returned to headquarters Caesarea was his headquarters it was the place where sort of government would be located and here he is in Jerusalem doing these misdeeds so he returns back to Jerusalem and then it tells us that he was angry with tyre and sidon the text doesn't specify why he was angry with tyre and sidon but it tells us why he had a relationship with tyre and sidon now tyre and sidon were two coastal cities along the Mediterranean and they were port cities and they engaged in trade and all that sort of stuff but they didn't have and he didn't have property so they were dependent upon Galilean farmers in order to eat it would've been the interior those on the coastal edge would need a Kelowna they would need a Kamloops they would need a place where there was farmland where there were crops and that could be sent over to that so that was the particular relationship borne by between herod agrippa the first and tyre in sight and they were dependent they needed nourishment they needed food that's what the tax specifies they make friends with this fellow called Blastoise probably buy money by way of bribery and Blastoise sorta grip of the first an tyre and sidon so that's what we see there in verses 12 verse 20 and then in verse 21 we see in this statement so on a set day herod arrayed in royal apparel sat on his throne and gave an oration to that and the people kept shouting the voice of a God and not of a man again this particular passage shows us something of the supernatural origin of Herod's destruction and as a result there are those who say well then it didn't happen because everything supernatural doesn't happen it is intriguing that the Jewish historian Josephus records the same event Herod did die this way in AD 44 Herod did die in this way in AD 44 so there are a bit of differences between Josephus account and Luke's account but there's no contradiction and so essentially what happens is that the people are tracing Herod and they say the voice of a god and not of a man Dennis Johnson points out the mingling of political and economic motivations with religious veneration was typical of ancient ruler cults in fact when the New Testament especially the book of Acts identifies Jesus as Lord and Savior the emperor was called that the civil Emperor was called Lord and Savior there was a a religious cult detained around the governing authority at that particular time and the same is true here and then Matthew Poole makes this observation with reference to their statement the voice of a god and of a man he says these impious flatterers destroy whom they exalt for God will pull down his rivals they didn't know what they were doing at this particular point but what's his fault or what's his problem or what does herod agrippa the first do in this instance he doesn't stop them he receives it remember when Peter meets with Cornelius and and Cornelius wants to render homage to Peter Peter says don't do that later on in Acts chapter 14 the Apostle Paul and Barnabas someone is going to want to do homage to them and they're gonna say no we're men of light passions as yourselves so don't worship us worship the true and living God but Herod Agrippa the first takes this Herod Agrippa the first receives this Herod Agrippa the first is probably quite happy about this proclamation in his honor now notice the judgment of Herod by God in verse 23 then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him this is the instance he was struck by God most high think about this passage think about how it perfectly captivates or captures Matthew 16 I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it there is opposition proffered by the devil through his civil government or through the civil government at this point but he can't extinguish it he can't terminate it he can't stop it the Lord Christ crushes him the Lord Christ destroys him and the reason is is because he did not give glory to God it's a great lesson here on blasphemy do not blaspheme and if you're ever the object of blasphemy repudiate it reject it and resist it because God does not take any rivals seriously brings that judgment to bear and then that last statement is very intriguing according to Josephus this was an internal situation some sort of a digestive thing it took in five days to die and that the worms inside ate him according to the way Luke specifies I mean that's not inconsistent or contradictory but the way that Luke writes it's as if they saw it before their very eyes they saw this happen God struck him and then he's eaten by worms and I realize this is not the most savory image that you want prior to your lunch but there is some biblical warrant for what we see in this instance in Isaiah 14 11 there's a prophecy concerning the fall of the king of Babylon and the Prophet says your pomp is brought down to Sheol and the sound of your stringed instruments the maggot is spread under you and worms cover you it's a gross picture of of judgment a gross sort of depiction of God's judgment and Johnson makes this observation he says whereas Isaiah contrasted the Babylonian king splendor in life with his worm-eaten corpse after death in the case of Herod God initiated the wormy decomposition even before the King had expired it is judgment brethren that's what happens and that brings us finally to the progress of the word by the power of God this is not a mistake this is not just something Luke does though Luke does do this in several places in the book of Acts he gives us a progress report he tells us about what's happening in terms of the advancement of the church the advancement of the kingdom and in verse 24 he says but the Word of God grew and multiplied so you see that tension I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it there is triumph but there will be this continual opposition but the continual opposition will never stamp out the church the continual opposition will never stop the church Christ died to save a great multitude that no man can number and I think in terms of of exposition here the best I can do is read a quote by John Stott on this particular section listen to what the brother says he says the chapter opens with James dead Peter in prison and Herod triumphing it closes with Herod dead Peter free and the Word of God triumphing such is the power of God to overthrow style human plans and to establish his own in their place tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and blunder oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel but they will not last in the end their empire will be broken and their pride abased I think he nailed it the chapter completely turns around just like in acts 9 Saul of Tarsus receives his marching orders to go to the city of Damascus and to lay hands on men and women to seize them and bring them back to Jerusalem for further punishment how does chapter 9 end with Saul of Tarsus preaching Jesus as the Christ in the synagogue of the Jews such that he is threatened with death and he has to escape from the city you see there is that tension that we live in right now the church is promised to triumph but along the way there will be opposition along the way there will be heartache along the way there will be hardship and the response of the church in the midst of it is to be faithful to God to persevere by his grace to never shrink back from declaring the truth of God and to never stop praying for the persecuted people of God that's what I want to bring by way of application in the first place in terms of persecution it's announced by Jesus in John chapter 15 if the world hates me Jesus says it's gonna hate you as well in the sermon on that out on the Mount he pronounces a beatitude on those who are persecuted for his name's sake they're not persecuted because they're irritating they're not persecuted because they're gossips they're not persecuted because they're slanders they're not persecuted for all those reasons that Peter highlights in 1st Peter chapter 4 they're persecuted for Jesus names he pronounces beatitude and blessing upon them we see persecution demonstrated in the book of Acts the religious persecution launched by the Jews and then the civil opposition launched here by Herod Agrippa the first and ultimately and consistently carried on by further Roman emperors what happened when the city of Rome burns down who's the scapegoat for Nero it is in his own foolish country man it isn't that the infrastructure it's the Christians who brought this demise upon our Blessed Empire you see they learn how to target the people of God and this is happening today brethren if it's not happening in spades here it may in the not-too-distant future this sort of thing is not new in the history of the church and the people of God while we have peace ought to be about girding ourselves up such that in the case they want to strip that peace from us we don't fall we don't crumble we don't dissolve in other words we need a manly christianity we need to be full of the spirit we need to be vibrant we need to be Lively our prayer meetings ought not to be pause meetings we ought to be a people interceding at the throne of God's grace this whole theme of persecution is confirmed by Paul 2nd Timothy 3:12 all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will what they'll suffer persecution so it's not the case that acts 12 is odd or strange or anything like that it's not the case that what's going on in India or Algeria or China is is odd we live in a world that as opposed to our God and His Christ we live in a world where there is a mutinous rage on the part of sinners against Yahweh and against his anointed Psalm 2 tells us that and so we need to be prepared for that secondly as far as our responsibility that we prayerfully remember persecuted believers as we are commanded if you can't make it here on a Wednesday night or on a Sunday morning at 9:30 that doesn't mean you can't pray for the persecuted church is this something that you do as Hebrews 13:3 a reality do you remember the prisoners do you see it I mean we don't even have to subscribe to one of these agencies that tell us what's going on anymore I mean for the most part not the real whacked-out mainstream media but in some aspects we even get this stuff through mainstream media the persecution of God's people is taking place all over the world too are we praying I mean I love the fact that in Chapter 12 at verse 5 and then again in chapter 12 at verse 712 we have these people of God praying for Peter I'd like to know that if our church ever fell into some Grievous persecution by the civil state there'd be other churches that would pray for us there'd be other people that would be concerned about us so again God never designed us to be in this on our own god never designed this to be you know isolation and maverick and individualism no God loves the gates of Zion more than the gate dwelling places of Jacob he loves the corporate people of God most high thirdly we ought to appreciate the triumph of the church verse 24 highlights this but the Word of God grew and multiplied I'll quote John Stott one more time he says the destructive power of Herod and the saving power of God are contrasted indeed throughout church history the pendulum has swung between expansion and opposition growth and shrinkage advance and retreat although with the assurance that even the powers of death and hell will never prevail against Christ Church since it is built securely on the rock what a glorious illustration of what we considered just last Sunday morning I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it and then finally consider the supremacy of Jesus Christ what happens when the civil state launches an offensive against the people of God Jesus wipes out Herod now tonight we're going to look at Psalm 110 we have looked at that Psalm in the past but I think it goes along with our study here in acts 12 today and the idea of the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church for those who may not be back tonight I want to say one thing just to give a little bit away about tonight is that Psalm 110 speaks about Christ conquering and it speaks and terminology that's a lot more physical and literal than I think the church is really into and oftentimes that section is interpreted and not altogether incorrectly to emphasize that it's through the power of the word the power of the Holy Spirit the power of the the prayers of God's people that that's how Jesus subdues his enemies and that's true and that's why I said it's not all together incorrect but there are times when our Christ stomps the life out of his enemies and this is what he does with herod agrippa the first this is what he did with the Roman Empire this is what he does with every enemy that rises up ultimately against him I'm not saying you and I go armed to the teeth put c-4 vests on march into ottawa and say see you on the other side that is not what I am suggesting the weapons of our warfare are not carnal they are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds that weaponry is prayer and preaching but Jesus at the right hand of God most high must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool and certainly as he is lowering that foot upon his enemies it is through the preaching of his gospel it is through the power of the Holy Spirit it is in response to the prayers of the upright but it's also through sheer force sheer power he has a rod of iron with which he breaks the nation's our Christ is often or he's not what is often depicted to us today as Davis says he's not the Jesus reeking of hand cream this super effeminate one this one who would never ever cause any hardship to anybody just think herod agrippa the first he receives this adulation and then he receives the direct judgment of God Most High and he is eaten by worms well I don't want to end on that note I want to end on the note of happiness and positivity Christ not only lowers the foot on his enemies in a display of destructive power but he lowers the foot on his enemies again by sovereign grace by the preaching of the gospel he makes enemies his friends he has that power by the Spirit and by the word preached to transfer people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of God's law and so for those of you too who are not saved those of you who today are intriguingly on the side of Herod Agrippa the first you may not be killing James you may not be imprisoning Peter there's only two places to be you're either with Christ or against him so you either with James you're with Peter you're with the praying disciples in this passage or you're on here at a grip of the first side in the bloodthirsty Jews and again I'm not suggesting you're all going to go out there and target Christian believers there's only two places to be and the only means by which we Traverse from the one into the other is God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone believe on him and you will be saved let us pray our Father we thank you for your word and we thank you for your grace and we thank you for the power displayed in this passage of Scripture not only in the destruction of Herod that persecutor of the church but that word of God that grew that was multiplying that word of God that was going forth conquering and to conquer and father we know that to be the case today and we pray that this gospel would run swiftly and be glorified and we pray today for those who are persecuted those who are in Chains those who are suffering for the cause of God and truth I pray father that you would be merciful that you would be their portion and their lot that you would strengthen them with might and the inner man so that Christ may dwell richly in their hearts through faith and God help us help us to be prayerful help us father to prize and treasure and bless you for the good things that you have given us in terms of peace and tranquility and the ability to meet together today and God help us to realize that if these things go away these things are taken away we need to be faithful we need to go forward we need to be persevering and grant us the grace to this end we ask now that you would bless this day and help us to worship and to glorify you and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well let's close by singing in our Trinity hymn book number one 564 564 you can stand with me and we will sing together [Music] it'd be the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen father may these things be true for each of us may you cause that blessed face to shine upon us may you keep us may cause us to know your great peace and go with us now we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen you may be seated